ASU Gammage announces star-studded lineup for 2017-18 season

ASU Gammage has announced its star-studded 2017-2018 Desert Schools Federal Credit Union Broadway Across America Arizona season. The season is anchored by HAMILTON and is packed with award-winning musicals, classics and the newest hits from Broadway.

The season features the last two Tony Award® winners for Best Musical, HAMILTON and FUN HOME, as well as Best Revival winners THE COLOR PURPLE and THE KING AND I. The season also includes 2016's Tony Award®-winning Best Play THE HUMANS along with other favorite musicals THE BODYGUARD, the hilarious SOMETHING ROTTEN!, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's SCHOOL OF ROCK.

The season also includes two special engagements with favorites Rodgers + Hammerstein's CINDERELLA and the classic LES MISÉRABLES.

"We have a winning combination of shows on our biggest season ever," says Colleen Jennings-Roggensack executive director of ASU Gammage and ASU vice president for cultural affairs. "It's a season of firsts, with it being the largest season subscription in ASU Gammage history and the honor of bringing HAMILTON to the Valley for its first engagement on a college campus. We pride ourselves in being innovative by presenting something for everyone.This season is an embarrassment of riches, and we're loving every minute of it."

Current season ticket holders can renew their subscription now. New season subscriptions go on sale Monday, May 15 and start at $190. Tickets are available at asugammage.com and ticketmaster.com.

The folks at Gammage say the best way to guarantee tickets to HAMILTON is to purchase a season subscription. Subscribers who renew their subscription for the 2017-2018 season will be able to guarantee their seats for the premiere Tempe engagement of HAMILTON before tickets become available to the general public.

The 2017-2018 season includes:

FUN HOME September 5-10, 2017The winner of five 2015 Tony Awards® including Best Musical, FUN HOME is based on Alison Bechdel's best-selling graphic memoir. This groundbreaking production introduces us to Alison at three different ages, revealing memories of her uniquely dysfunctional family that connect with her in surprising new ways. "Heart-gripping and cathartic, FUN HOME occupies the place where we all grew up." (The New York Times).

SOMETHING ROTTEN! October 31-November 5, 2017Direct from Broadway, SOMETHING ROTTEN! is a "big, fat hit!" (New York Post). Set in the '90s the 1590s this hilarious smash tells the story of Nick and Nigel Bottom (Tony® nominee Rob McClure and Broadway's Josh Grisetti), two brothers who are desperate to write their own hit play while the "rock star" Shakespeare (Tony® nominee Adam Pascal) keeps getting all the hits. When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world's very first MUSICAL! With its heart on its ruffled sleeve and sequins in its soul, SOMETHING ROTTEN! is "The Producers + Spamalot + The Book of Mormon. Squared!" (New York Magazine).

THE BODYGUARD November 28-December 3, 2017Based on the smash hit film, the award-winning musical tells the story of former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer, who is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. Each expects to be in charge; what they don't expect is to fall in love. A breathtakingly romantic thriller, THE BODYGUARD features a host of irresistible classics including Queen of the Night, So Emotional, One Moment in Time, Saving All My Life, Run to You, I Have Nothing, I Wanna Dance with Somebody and one of the biggest selling songs of all time I Will Always Love You.

HAMILTON January 30-February 25, 2018HAMILTON is the story of America's Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington's right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was the new nation's first Treasury Secretary. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B, and Broadway, HAMILTON is the story of America then, as told by America now. HAMILTON's creative team previously collaborated on the 2008 Tony Award ®-winning Best Musical IN THE HEIGHTS. HAMILTON features scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Paul Tazewell, lighting design by Howell Binkley, sound design by Nevin Steinberg, hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPointe, and casting by Telsey & Company, Bethany Knox, CSA.

THE KING AND I March 20-25One of Rodgers + Hammerstein's finest works, THE KING AND I boasts a score which features such beloved classics as Getting To Know You, Hello Young Lovers, Shall We Dance, I Have Dreamed, and Something Wonderful. Set in 1860's Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher, whom the modernist King, in an imperialistic world, brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children.

THE COLOR PURPLE April 17-22, 2018THE COLOR PURPLE is the 2016 Tony Award® winner for Best Musical Revival! Hailed as "a direct hit to the heart" (The Hollywood Reporter), this joyous American classic has conquered Broadway in an all-new "ravishingly reconceived production that is a glory to behold" (The New York Times) directed by Tony winner John Doyle. With a soul-raising score of jazz, gospel, ragtime and blues, THE COLOR PURPLE gives an exhilarating new spirit to this Pulitzer Prize-winning story. Don't miss this stunning re-imagining of an epic story about a young woman's journey to love and triumph in the American South. It's the musical sensation that New York Magazine calls "one of the greatest revivals ever." Experience the exhilarating power of this Tony-winning triumph!THE HUMANS May 29-June 3, 2018Stephen Karam's THE HUMANS, is an uproarious, hopeful, and heartbreaking play that takes place over the course of a family dinner on Thanksgiving. Breaking with tradition, Erik Blake has brought his Pennsylvania family to celebrate and give thanks at his daughter's apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside the ramshackle pre-war duplex, and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the Blake clan's deepest fears and greatest follies are laid bare. Our modern age of anxiety is keenly observed, with humor and compassion, in this new American classic that won the 2016 Tony Award® for Best Play.

SCHOOL OF ROCK June 19-24, 2018SCHOOL OF ROCK is a New York Times Critics' Pick and "AN INSPIRING JOLT OF ENERGY, JOY AND MAD SKILLZ!" (Entertainment Weekly). Based on the hit film, this hilarious new musical follows Dewey Finn, a wannabe rock star turned substitute teacher who transforms a class of straight-A students into grade-A rockers. It features 14 new songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber, all the original songs from the movie and musical theater's first-ever live kids rock band!

SEASON SPECIAL ENGAGEMENTS INCLUDE:

CINDERELLA December 19-24, 2017Rodgers + Hammerstein's CINDERELLA is the Tony Award®- winning Broadway musical from the creators of THE SOUND OF MUSIC and SOUTH PACIFIC that's delighting audiences with its contemporary take on the classic tale. This lush production features an incredible orchestra, jaw-dropping transformations and all the moments you love the pumpkin, the glass slipper, the masked ball and more, plus some surprising new twists! Be transported back to your childhood as you rediscover some of Rodgers & Hammerstein's most beloved songs, including "In My Own Little Corner," "Impossible/It's Possible" and "Ten Minutes Ago," in this hilarious and romantic Broadway experience for anyone who's ever had a wish, a dream... or a really great pair of shoes.

LES MISERABLES May 15-20, 2018Cameron Mackintosh presents a brand new 25th anniversary production of Boublil & Schönberg's legendary musical, LES MISÉRABLES, with glorious new staging and dazzlingly reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. This new production has been acclaimed by critics, fans and new audiences and is breaking box office records wherever it goes. The New York Times calls this LES MISÉRABLES "an unquestionably spectacular production from start to finish." The London Times hails the new show "a five star hit, astonishingly powerful."

About ASU Gammage For more than 50 years, ASU Gammage has been a top cultural destination in the Valley. The Frank Lloyd WrightWright-designedrming arts center located on the Tempe campus of Arizona State University is one of the largest university-based presenters of performing arts in the world and top touring market for Broadway. Home to the Desert Schools Broadway Across America Arizona and BEYOND series, the mission of Connecting Communities™ goes beyond the stage and programs and impacts the community through shared experiences in the arts. asugammage.com

BROADWAY ACROSS AMERICA is part of The John Gore Organization family of companies, which includes Broadway.com and The Broadway Channel. Led by 9 time Tony-winning producer John Gore (Owner & CEO), BAA is the foremost presenter of first-class touring productions in North America, operating in 41 markets with over 270,000 subscribers. Current and past productions include Beautiful, Cats, Chicago, Dear Evan Hansen, Fiddler on the Roof, Finding Neverland, Million Dollar Quartet, Hairspray, On Your Feet!, School of Rock and The Producers.